Openreach Slash FTTP Broadband Prices for More New Build Homes

Openreach (BT) has announced that they will drop the price of their 1Gbps Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) based ultrafast broadband ISP network infrastructure by 75% for new homes in the UK (focus on smaller developers), which aims to “encourage house builders to provide all new homes with full fibre“.

At present the operator already offers all new developments of 30+ homes the ability get FTTP built for free. By comparison the new scheme will also offer a “revised rate card” to smaller developers / projects who may be building between just 2 to 29 premises in an area (developers can register here).

Under this approach the developers will be paying a set contribution for the size of the site that is “more than 75% less, on average, on the current contribution of c.£25k per site“. The operator suggests that more than 40,000 homes across 5,000 small developments per annum nationwide could benefit.

By comparison the existing scheme for developments of 30+ premises claims to already be making full fibre available to more than 80% of UK new build plots being registered with Openreach since it launched in 2016, with some 4,700 new developments covering more than 600,000 premises.

Kim Mears, Openreach’s MD of Strategic Infrastructure, said:

“Our existing offer already provides huge benefits to both buyers and builders alike, but we wanted to go further and make sure everybody moving into a new build property can enjoy the advantages of Fibre-to-the-Premises broadband.

The UK’s is a world leader in digital infrastructure and services today, but as the digital revolution continues at an ever increasing pace, and our demand for data grows, we need to make sure this country stays ahead of the curve by building fast, reliable networks that cater for all the activities we’ll want to do online in the decades ahead.

Our new offer provides a low cost option to housebuilders and we hope it will help encourage the adoption of this future-proof technology across smaller developments so that no-one’s left behind.

We fully support the government’s intention to make full fibre broadband mandatory on all new builds and we’re working closely with DCMS (Dept for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport) and housebuilders on how best to deliver this.”

Margot James, UK Minister for Digital, said:

“We’re building a Britain that’s fit for the future, and recently announced our plans for a national full fibre broadband network. Ensuring all new developments, large or small, can access full fibre technology will be instrumental in delivering this, and we welcome Openreach’s plans to reduce costs to developers by 75%.”

The new scheme, which will launch on 1st November 2018, comes as the Government plans to consult with developers and network infrastructure providers across the UK this autumn – with the intention of making full fibre broadband infrastructure mandatory for all new build sites. This forms part of the recent Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review (FTIR) proposals.

All of this will of course form part of their overall “Fibre First” strategy, which is currently working to extend FTTP coverage to 3 million UK premises by the end of 2020 (March 2021 financial). After that they also hold an ambition to deliver 10 million by around 2025 “if the right conditions are in place” (the latter depends on the outcome of on-going negotiations with Ofcom etc.).

Mind you, in the current aggressively competitive climate, not going to 10 million would be almost unthinkable for Openreach (they have to keep ahead of the game or risk being left in the dust). As an operator, they certainly have the resources to deliver on their ambition if they so wish, although there are some problem areas (here).